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Size-dependent vector effects of microplastics on bioaccumulation of hydrophobic organic contaminants in earthworm: A dual-dosing study
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Researchers developed a dual-dosing method to directly measure how microplastics act as carriers for hydrophobic organic contaminants in earthworms. The study found that smaller microplastic particles had greater vector effects, increasing bioaccumulation of pollutants, and that dermal uptake played a significant role in contaminant transfer from microplastics to organisms.
The potential of microplastics to act as a vector for anthropogenic contaminants is of rising concern. However, directly quantitatively determining the vector effects of microplastics has been rarely studied. Here, we present a dual-dosing method that simulates the chemical bioaccumulation from soil and microplastics simultaneously, wherein unlabeled hydrophobic organic contaminants (HOCs) were spiked in the soil and their respective isotope-labeled reference compounds were spiked on the polyethylene microplastics. The comparison of the bioavailability, i.e., the freely dissolved concentration in soil porewater and bioaccumulation by earthworm, between the unlabeled and isotope-labeled HOCs was carried out. Relatively higher level of bioavailability of the isotope-labeled HOCs was observed compared to the unlabeled HOCs, which may be attributed to the irreversible desorption of HOCs from soil particles. The average relative fractions of bioaccumulated isotope-labeled HOCs in the soil treated with 1 % microplastics ranged from 6.9 % to 46.4 %, which were higher than those in the soil treated with 0.1 % microplastics. Treatments with the smallest microplastic particles were observed to have the highest relative fractions of bioaccumulated isotope-labeled HOCs, with the exception of phenanthrene, suggesting greater vector effects of smaller microplastic particles. Biodynamic model analysis indicated that the contribution of dermal uptake to the bioaccumulation of isotope-labeled HOCs was higher than that for unlabeled HOCs. This proposed method can be used as a tool to assess the prospective vector effects of microplastics in complex environmental conditions and would enhance the comprehensive understanding of the microplastic vector effects for HOC bioaccumulation.
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Researchers developed a dual-labeled method using isotope-tagged contaminants on microplastics to directly quantify the vector effect of microplastics for hydrophobic organic contaminants in soil, finding that earthworms can assimilate pollutants from both soil and microplastic sources.
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Researchers investigated whether microplastics act as vectors for hydrophobic organic contaminant (HOC) bioaccumulation in earthworms, testing two scenarios with polyethylene particles of different sizes and polychlorinated biphenyls in soil. Results showed that clean microplastics in contaminated soil reduced HOC bioaccumulation, while smaller precontaminated microplastics enhanced transfer of PCBs to earthworms, demonstrating that particle size and prior contamination status are critical factors.
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Polyethylene microplastics were shown to act as vectors for organic pollutants including pharmaceuticals and pesticides in soil, with earthworm bioaccumulation assays and molecular endpoints revealing that MPs increased contaminant uptake compared to soil exposure alone.
Size effects of microplastics on accumulation and elimination of phenanthrene in earthworms
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Researchers examined how microplastic particle size affects the accumulation and elimination of the pollutant phenanthrene in earthworms. They found that smaller microplastics enhanced phenanthrene uptake in earthworm tissues, while larger particles had a less pronounced effect. The study demonstrates that microplastic size influences how organic pollutants interact with soil organisms, with finer particles potentially increasing contaminant bioavailability.
Vector effects of microplastics on organic pollutants: sorption-desorption and bioaccumulation kinetics
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This review synthesizes existing research on whether microplastics act as carriers that increase the bioaccumulation of organic pollutants in aquatic organisms. Researchers found evidence that microplastics can adsorb hydrophobic pollutants from water and release them in the gut of organisms that ingest them, potentially enhancing toxic effects. The study acknowledges the ongoing debate between vector and no-vector perspectives and outlines a consensus based on the available sorption, desorption, and bioaccumulation data.
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